‘Unbelievably Big’ Mudslide in Remote Area in Colorado

May 26, 2014

(COLLBRAN, Colo.) — An “unbelievably big” mudslide was reported in Mesa County, Colo., at about 6:15 p.m. on Sunday and three people are unaccounted for.

The mudslide is estimated at about four miles long and two miles wide, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office said. In some places, it may be about 250 feet deep. Collbran, Colo., the town in which the slide occurred, is about 40 miles northeast of Grand Junction.

The slide was likely caused, at least in part, by rain that fell much of the day Sunday. One witness told the Sheriff’s Office that the sound of the slide was similar to that of a freight train.

No major roads were impacted by the mudslide. According to the Sheriff’s Office the area is remote, with Sheriff’s spokesperson Heather Benjamin calling it “kind of a summer vacation mountain type area.”

The road into the area remained closed on Monday as the mudslide was deemed unstable.